Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun(49)



Ofelia dared not breathe. She could have touched his legs when he poured himself a glass of brandy. Her brother let out a feeble squeal in his cradle and the Wolf groaned when the sharp liquor seeped through his bandage. Ofelia heard him pour himself another glass and . . . set it down on the table.

Ofelia felt her feet and hands go cold with fear.

The chalk. Where was the Faun’s chalk?

It was lying among Vidal’s papers on the table. Vidal picked it up and crumbled it between his fingers as he scanned the room for the intruder who left it there.

Oh, how Ofelia feared her pounding heart would give her away!

And maybe Vidal did hear it.

He pulled out his pistol, walked around the table, and cast a glance underneath. But Ofelia had been fast. The Wolf saw nothing, and her brother came to her aid by starting to cry. Vidal holstered the pistol, and approached the cradle. His son . . . would he rule the boy’s thoughts the way his father still ruled his? Would his son yearn to please him even with his death?

“Capitán! With your permission?”

He couldn’t remember the name of the soldier who rushed into his room. They died too quickly.

“What?”

They all knew how severe the punishment could be for disturbing the capitán in his room.

“Serrano is back. He’s wounded.”

“Wounded?” Vidal was still scanning the room.

His son was crying as if something or someone were disturbing his sleep.

Please! Ofelia pleaded. You will give me away, brother. But the pile of empty burlap sacks she had slipped behind kept her safe from the Wolf’s gaze, and finally she heard him walk toward the door.

Ofelia didn’t leave her hiding place until she heard his steps on the stairs outside. He had left the half-empty glass of brandy on the table. It reminded Ofelia of other glasses—the ones Dr. Ferreira had prepared for her mother to help her sleep. She slipped her hand into her pocket. Yes, there it was. The bottle of medicine she had taken from her mother’s room. She poured just a few drops into the liquor, afraid the Wolf would taste it if she added too much. Dr. Ferreira, her mother, her father, Mercedes . . . maybe they were all waiting for her in the Underground Kingdom the Faun had told her about.

All she had to do was do everything he said and she would see them all again.

Another squeal came from the cradle. Brother. Nobody had named him yet. As if her mother had taken his true name to her grave. Ofelia remembered how she’d talked to him when he was still in her womb. She had warned him of this world. Yes, she had.

She bent over the cradle and took the baby into her arms. He was so small.





36


Sister and Brother


How they all stared at him when he walked into the dining room. Gone was the glory, the feeling of invincibility. They had last gathered to celebrate their victory in the woods. Vidal felt the bloody bandage on his cheek like a branding. Failure . . . slashed onto his face with a kitchen knife.

Serrano was sitting on a chair beside the fire, his heavy body deflated and slumped.

“Where’s Garces?”

Serrano shook his head. Vidal sat down on the chair next to him.

“How many were there?”

“Fifty. At least. Only Garcia and I escaped. The rest didn’t make it.” Serrano could barely look at him.

“Our watch posts aren’t responding either,” said the soldier who’d delivered the bad news to Vidal. He still couldn’t remember his name. “How many men do we have left?”

“Twenty. Maybe fewer.”

Vidal felt for the pocket watch, but he had left it on his table. He couldn’t help but wonder whether it had announced his father’s approaching death by ticking louder. He tried to mock the thought with a smile, but the pain this caused him was another reminder of just how badly things had gone wrong.

If he couldn’t get his hands on Mercedes, he would kill the girl.

Ofelia was still standing in Vidal’s room holding her brother. So small, so warm, his face all fresh and new under the white cap their mother had made for him, his eyes, clear and trusting, looking up at her.

Sister. Brother.

Ofelia had never been a sister before, just a daughter and a girl who’d ruined her new dress in the woods and still wasn’t sure what the moon-shaped mark on her left shoulder meant.

Sister. The word changed everything.

“We’re leaving,” she whispered into her brother’s ear. “Together. Don’t be afraid.”

Her brother uttered a timid whimper. This is all new to me, Ofelia believed to hear him say. Please protect me, sister.

“Nothing is going to happen to you.” She pressed him firmly to her shoulder.

That is such a tough promise to keep.

She was walking toward the door when she heard his father’s voice on the stairs. Oh, why hadn’t she left a moment earlier?

“When the rest of the squad gets back, have them report to me immediately.” The Wolf’s voice was close. Too close.

Ofelia hid behind the door. Don’t cry, brother! she begged silently. Don’t give us away! Though he hadn’t listened to her pleas for their mother’s life.

“Radio for enforcements,” she heard the Wolf say. “Now.”

And there he was, back in the room. Hold your breath, Ofelia.

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